


Of All Immortals, Dark and Light

by KestralWatcher



Series: Kestral Chronicles [2]
Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Hamilton, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Highlander: The Series
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-07
Updated: 2010-05-24
Packaged: 2017-10-09 08:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KestralWatcher/pseuds/KestralWatcher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Victoria is back in Sunnydale and hopes to aid the Slayer in the fight against Angelus. (No. 2 in the Kestral Chronicles)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The concept of Immortality used here is from Highlander, which belongs to Panzer/Davis. The Buffy universe belongs to Mutant Enemy. Jason belongs to Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series.
> 
> Author's Note: This takes place during the second season of Buffy, shortly after the episode "Phases."

Part One

1998

Victoria DiThon Kestral paid the taxi driver and stepped out into the bright California sunshine. "I can't believe I'm doing this." She, like most immortals of her kind, made a point of staying well away from any Hellmouths. It was not considered Holy Ground, but nobody really wanted to know what could happen to a Quickening there. Unfortunately, Victoria could not avoid this one. Her friend Laurana Thompson had called the day before with the rumor flying around the larger vampire community. Angelus was back.

"I disappeared with only a note on the kitchen table, too." Victoria slung her duffel bag around her shoulder and walked up the sidewalk towards Sunnydale High School. The school looked much worn in after just five years. The last time she'd been here, it had been a grove of trees with waiting construction equipment. "Justin is going to kill me if I get back." She pushed open the front door and blinked in the dim and deserted hallway. Classes had let out over an hour ago, but hopefully the one she was looking for was still there. "Looking for the Slayer. I must be insane." And why was she talking to herself all of a sudden? It must be the Hellmouth. They made her cranky.

Had it been just five years since she'd been here last? So much had happened in the past decade. She and Oz kept in touch with more regularity these days, but she still found it hard to believe he'd been drawn to this town so completely.

A few steps away from the library doors, the presence of another Immortal swept over Victoria. It must be Oz, but she wasn't taking any chances in this town. She gripped the hilt of her sword inside her trench coat before pushing open the library doors and walking in.

An older man, probably the librarian, and four teenagers sat at a table spread with books. They all stared at the last person in the room. He, in turn, stood before the check-out desk with both hands gripping the short sword Victoria was so familiar with. Not quite the greeting she had expected. Maybe this had been a bad idea after all.

* * * * *

"Oz, what's wrong?" Willow said. "Who is that?" Her boyfriend had just jumped up from his seat and pulled, of all things, a sword from his bag. A few seconds later, a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and an unreadable face and stepped into the library. She held something inside her coat. A weapon? Should Willow be diving under the table? She looked to her friends for guidance, but none of them moved. They all stared at the tableau before them. Giles with curiosity, Xander with suspicion, Cordelia with fear. Buffy looked beyond caring.

"Victoria DiThon Kestral," the young woman said, answering Willow's question directly with her mouth quirked in a half smile. She eased her hand out of her coat and took a few more steps into the library.

"What are you doing here, Toria?" Oz said, lowering his sword. Willow noted the welcoming tone in his voice, and felt everyone in the room relax. Except for Buffy. Never Buffy.

"I'm here because of Angel," Victoria said. She took one more step forward, and she and Oz clasped forearms before pulling each other into a hug.

It lasted just a moment, not long enough for Willow to become too jealous. Then Oz led Victoria to the table where they were gathered and slipped the sword back into this back like it had never appeared. He reclaimed his seat next to Willow and slipped his hand into hers.

"Sorry to barge in on you like this," Victoria said, dropping the bag on her shoulder to the ground and leaning against the table. "I don't know if Oz has told you about me, but I'm thinking not." She paused, as if picking her words with care. "Which of you is the Slayer?"

"I am," Buffy said, a harsh edge in her voice. "What do you know about Angel?"

"Quite a bit," Victoria said. "He was my sire, after all." Ignoring the sharp intakes of breath from around the table, she looked straight at Oz. "Do they know about us? Immortals? Our kind of immortal, I mean?"

"Um, yes," Giles said, ignoring Oz's short groan of dismay. "My name is Rupert Giles. I'm Buffy's Watcher. I've told them about your kind, but since it's recorded that you usually stay away from the Hellmouth, we've never discussed what would happen if someone came." He looked back to Oz. "Obviously someone was here all along."

Willow's mind raced. Immortals? Oz? This girl who looked like she could be in high school with them? But not vampires? She remembered the conversation with Giles. People with swords who lived forever, but he'd made it clear that it was the least of their Hellmouthy worries. Oh, she was dying to hit the books.

Oz released Willow's hand and placed both of his on the table. "Toria, we're going to have a talk about secrets. This was not how I intended them to find out." He met each of their eyes in turn, catching Willow's the longest. They promised answers, but was there a hint of something new in those depths. An age that he'd hidden until now? "I've been kind of studying the Hellmouths for, well, a long time. Always trying to figure out why strange things are attracted here. It wasn't really my intention to get involved with anything to do with the vampires," Oz said. "But, well, then I met you guys."

Introductions were made, and Victoria ended up in the seat between Buffy and Xander. There was still caution in the air, but Oz obviously trusted the new arrival. He explained that he'd known her for years. If Oz trusted her, Willow would, too.

"Wait a minute," Cordelia said. "You said that Angel was your sire, so that means you must be a vampire. But it's light outside. That's impossible." Everyone stared at her. Victoria quirked an eyebrow. "Why is it that whenever I figure something out, everyone looks so surprised?" Cordelia slumped back into her chair with a sniff.

"It's a long story," Victoria said. "But it is why I'm here, in a way. I came to check up on him, because he's caused quite a stir. Not just in Sunnydale. He's my problem, whether I like it or not."

"No, he's my problem." Buffy started to rise, but Oz grabbed her arm.

"Angel as Angelus is everybody's problem," Oz said. "I know you're close, Buffy, but Victoria has known him for a very long time. We can use her help. I'd even thought about asking her here myself, but I wasn't sure how to explain it."

"Look," Xander said. "Somebody's got to explain all of this sooner of later."

"Sooner would be better." Buffy leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

Victoria was silent for a moment. "Sooner it is, then. I'd rather you not get involved, but I think you already are, whether I like it or not. And I'm not going to turn down the aid of a Slayer. I know my limits."

"I guess it was about a century ago. London. God, London sucked in those days…"

* * * * *


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Part One for Disclaimers and Author Notes.

1898

Victoria pulled the edges of her cloak closer together, trying to keep in the remnants of warmth from the pub. She had gotten back from Asia three years ago and still hadn't adjusted back to proper British weather. Maybe she never would.

Everything had changed since London of thirty years ago. But no one would remember Lady Kestra Victor, and she was still laying the groundwork to reemerge as a niece. One week, she only needed to find a place to board for one week. But mentalities had shifted yet again, and a woman traveling alone, without an apparent profession, was too strange for the reputable boarding houses, and all of her money was on hold so she couldn't afford a proper hotel.

The hour had grown late, and she turned down yet another empty street. The weighed the options of showing up on Hugh Fitzcairn's doorstep with destroying the new reputation she hadn't yet built.

A lamp lighter hadn't been through yet. Victoria released her hold on the cloak and loosened her sword in its scabbard hidden in her long skirts.

It was not a useless gesture, as a man dressed in shabby clothing stepped out of an alleyway in front of her. Victoria glanced behind her, but two men had also appeared to block her escape.

Reputation be damned, she should have headed for Fitz's place hours ago.

"Right, lass." The man in front of her waved a dirty knife. "Money, jewelry, anything of value. Come on."

Victoria kept her face lowered and used jerky movements, as if she were shaking in terror. It would take too long to draw her sword and still keep the element of surprise. She twitched her wrist so that the thin dagger in her sleeve dropped into her hand. This was not a complication she needed right now.

The man in front of her screamed as a dark shadow came hurling across the street, moving at speeds she had not seen since India, and a certain tiger. Only a second passed before Victoria took advantage of the opening and spun around. It was easy enough to dispatch one of the couple behind her, dagger slashing the soft tissue of the man's throat. The third thief, however, had enough warning to put up a fight. Knife versus knife was never a clean fight, and she was hampered by skirts and cloak and stylish yet unfortunate shoes. She ended up on the ground next to him, gasping and drowning in blood filling her lungs.

Her dark savior stared down at her as she gasped one last breath and died.

* * * * *

Victoria inhaled into empty lungs, her muscles tensing at a pain that was all too familiar. Eyes snapping open, she found herself in a small apartment, cluttered almost to bursting. But it was dry and she was warm for the first time since setting foot back in this city.

A man faced away from her, staring into the fireplace.

"Who are you?" Victoria's voice was raspy, and her lungs still burned with fresh air.

The stranger turned. "Good, you're awake." He left his chair and approached the couch she laid on. Even in the dim light she could see the caution on his face.

Victoria's sword stood propped against the wall next to the couch. With a speed the belied the pain she still felt, she shot out her hand to grasp the hilt. It was still sheathed, and she didn't want to think about the man removing it from her skirts, but she could still hit him with it if need be.

He stopped short, and held up his hands. "Careful, miss. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm like you."

She'd felt the familiar pain of coming back to life, but she had not felt the presence of an Immortal trickle down her spine. Not now, and not on the street before. "So tell me: what, exactly, are we?" She eased herself up, still clutching the sword.

Something flashed in the man's eyes, but she didn't catch it in the glint of the fire. "Vampire."

That was a new one. The few times she'd risen in front of a stranger, she'd been called angel, demon, and once just a bunch of gibberish. They'd never brought her back to a warm apartment and they'd certainly never left her weapons within reach.

When Victoria didn't reply, he sighed. In the next breath, his face contorted. His eyes glowed red under a protruding forehead and the tips of fangs could be seen over his bottom lip.

Victoria had been alive for over a hundred years and visited four continents. This was still a new one. Gathering her skirts in one hand, she stood. "I'm dreaming. That's the only possible explanation for this. I've never heard of an Immortal dreaming while they were dead, but I suppose it could happen." She was also babbling, but supposed that was to be expected in a situation such as this.

Striding past the "vampire," she plucked her cloak from where it hung by the fire. "Goodbye, sir." She headed for the door, not daring to look behind her. Perhaps by the time she'd left this strange home, she would have awoken for real.

A hand on her shoulder whirled her around, and Victoria found herself inches away from her would-be rescuer. His face had returned to normal, but Victoria could still sense something on the edge of her mind, that this man was not quite what he appeared to be.

"You're not a vampire?" he said. Confusion and a hint of loss edged its way into his voice. "Then what are you?"

"I take it this is not a dream?" He nodded. "I see." What to tell someone who was not like her, but very obviously not human? It wasn't like she could wire the Sanctuary for advice; there were no lines to the new spot near Calcutta. "Well, you've seen me come back to life. I'm an Immortal. But I'm not a vampire, as you call yourself." This was right out of Byron's book, and she wasn't sure where to go from here. "I bleed, which I think you saw." She looked down at her dress, strained with blood. "My name is Victoria DiThon Kestral. To repeat what I said when I first woke, who are you?"

"I am Angel."

* * * * *

"We were in London for just over a year," Victoria said to the rapt listeners. "And became very good friends. He knew he was a vampire, and he knew his name, but that was it. Everything was blank until a month before I met him. So I established my new life and helped him adjust to this new world. He wasn't like the vampires of myth. He hated killing. Would only drink animal blood. When I fell from a horse in public and was badly injured, he left the city with me. We went to one of my homes in Wales, and that's where things got interesting."

Wales had been the only place they could go. Angel's hold on sanity was slowly slipping. He was regaining memories, memories of horrors that he wouldn't share with Victoria. Even the quiet of the countryside and Victoria's calming presense began to loose effect.

* * * * *

Lady Kestra Victor's niece relinquished her inheritance back to the bank's holdings and disappeared as suddenly as she had arrived. As always, with the dark gentleman who never left her side.

Roused from a deep sleep, Victoria tensed. Then she heard it. Angel, slamming open the door of the small country house and shouting her name. Victoria ran down the stairs, sword in hand. She grabbed Angel's shoulder to steady him. This wasn't like the previous attacks. This was something real. "What's wrong?"

"The villagers…someone saw me drinking."

It was after midnight, but farms never slept. Victoria cursed. "Not again." Spinning on her heel, she bolted back upstairs, throwing on a shirt and breeches and grabbing the packed rucksack that always sat by her bedroom door. When she came back downstairs, Angel was just finishing saddling her horse.

She tossed him his own pack, and swung into the saddle. Within moments, they sped back down the lane. But they didn't reach the main road fast enough. At least a dozen men, armed with rifles and torches.

Victoria drew her revolver and heard Angel growl as his vampire face emerged. But he pulled his horse away when some of the men pulled out wooden crosses.

She yelped in pain when a bullet struck her in the shoulder. Her hand spasmed, and she dropped the gun. They were almost surrounded, and the road was too narrow to force their way through on horseback. The men on foot swarmed their horses, dragging Victoria and Angel to the ground.

Many hands pinned her to the dirt, and she could not longer see Angel. Shouting surrounded her, and she struggled, but she was one young woman against three large men. One of the riflemen stood above her, and pulled the trigger.

* * * * *

She surged back to life, this time surrounded by silence and trees. Gone were the men, and she was no longer on the road. Victoria staggered to her feet. Blinking in the moonlight, she saw another body just feet away.

Dropping to her knees at Angel's side, she saw the wooden stake that had missed his heart. She yanked it out, he just lay there. He had to drink blood for strength. There was no other option. She drew the ever-present knife from her sleeve and slit her wrist, holding it above Angel's mouth. He convulsed as the blood dripped over his lips. His eyes snapped open and he grabbed her wrist, pulling it closer to him.

Victoria screamed in pain as her wrist bones cracked, and Angel sunk his teeth farther into her skin. Her vision dimmed from loss of blood, and the last thing she saw was Angel with his eyes open and consciously drinking her blood.

* * * * *

Realization dawned on Angel and he dropped Victoria's wrist in horror. She lay on the forest floor, unconscious and slowly dying once again. Her blood would take hours to replenish itself, and he didn't have to carry her so soon after his own narrow brush with true death. But they needed to move soon, or he would be caught in the sunlight.

Another hidden memory wormed its way into his mind and he shuddered. Drusilla. He couldn't make that mistake again.

No one knew what would happen if an Immortal was changed into a vampire not at First Death. But there was no other choice. Using her bloodied dagger, he slit his own wrist and pressed it to Victoria's mouth. She swallowed reflexively and kept drinking.

* * * * *


	3. Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Part One for Disclaimers and Author Notes.

Part Three

"So what happened to you?" Buffy said. Her eyes were wide, as were everyone else's. It was impossible for this apparent young woman to be what she claimed.

"I'm now a vampire," Victoria said, with a half-shrug. "Sort of. It's like a poison. Normally my Immortality would merely clean it out of my blood. But because this is pretty much defined as magic or such, it couldn't."

"So, ah, what can you do then?" Giles asked.

Code for "Do you drink blood and murder people?" Victoria knew how this all worked. But she took the question at face value. Better to have Oz's friends know what she was capable of now, rather than what she had been capable of years ago.

"Well, I can turn into a vampire during the night. The whole demonic face thing, with the speed and strength," Victoria said. "But during then, I have the same limitations as a vampire. Like crosses and Holy Water. Except if you stake me, you just have to pull out the stake and I'll revive. And dawn merely makes me revert back normal." Normal being such a strange word when it came to her life.

Watches in the room began to beep. "Sundown," Buffy said. She leveled a measuring gaze and Victoria. "Want to join us?"

Yet another question within a question. This group was good at that. What had Oz gotten himself into? Victoria shrugged. "Why not? Angelus will know I'm here sooner or later."

They trooped out of the school, and Victoria followed. They arrived at, of all places, a cemetery. Rather cliché, but she'd gathered last time that Sunnydale wasn't the average town. "I'm going to split from you guys now," Victoria said as they approached the cemetery gates. "I don't want to let the vamps know I'm here too early." Before they could respond, she melted into the darkness.

Not magic, that trick. Just years and years of practice at disappearing at the best possible time.

They stared around for her, but only Oz looked straight in her direction. He might no know what she was up to, but he knew her well enough to know she'd stick around to gauge their reaction. Hazards of having old friends.

"So what do you want us to do, Buffy?" Willow said. Her friend had gotten quiet once they reached the cemetery.

"The usual," Buffy said. Victoria heard the poorly disguised optimism in her voice, masked by a smile plastered onto her face. "Patrol and kill the vampires."

Victoria took that as her cue. She circled the outside of the cemetery, ducking through backyards and pausing to pet a cute dog in one. Finally, she climbed over the short stone wall at the back of the cemetery. She didn't hear any of the others, so maybe this would work after all.

She knelt in the grass, ignoring the evening dew soaking in to her jeans. Drawing her sword out of her coat, she placed it on the ground next to her in easy reach. Angel was her sire, and they had been linked in a way she had never experienced with anyone else. If Victoria reverted to vampire form anywhere near him, he would know.

Victoria took a deep breath and concentrated. She didn't do this often these days, but some things never quite left a person. Power surged through her, as she felt her forehead curl out over her eyes. Her canines grew and pressed against her bottom lip. She stretched her arms and arched her back, feeling the familiar strength pulse through her skin.

Now she just had to wait for him to come.

* * * * *

Angelus sat at the table in the abandoned warehouse, contemplating how to get rid of Buffy. And her friends. And her pesky Watcher. But especially Buffy. He would destroy all that reminded him of his time with a soul.

Drusilla had left at sundown, to do whatever it was that Drusilla. Spike had retreated to one of the back rooms two days ago and had not been seen since. As fond as Angelus was of both of them, there was just so much of them he could take at a time.

Something sparked in the back of his head. Something that shouldn't be. Not in Sunnydale. And speaking of people who needed to be destroyed…Angelus rose to his feet, startling a few of the vampire lackeys nearby. "Victory," he growled, leaving the warehouse at a sprint.

* * * * *

The lackeys looked at each other in confusion. The general order of things had changed so much in the past few days that nothing could surprise them anymore.

Spike emerged from the back room. "What are you doing?" he asked.

The lackeys stared at him.

He sighed. "Get down to the cemetery and watch for the Slayer."

The vampires made their own mad dashes from the warehouse. They weren't stupid. Most of them would not come back from a fight with the Slayer.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes later, Victoria grew stiff on the cold ground. She heard an occasional voice as one of the others called out to each other, but none of them had spotted her in this dark corner.

Then, the sounds of a fight. Short, and brutal. But no screams of pain or despair, so the Slayer and her friends had emerged the victor. Even in her vampiric form, Victoria felt no pity or compassion for the true vampires. She still had her soul.

She felt it, then. Not the tingly presence of another Immortal, but a call far more primal. This came from her blood, not her mind. Angel was near. But he was Angelus now, and she would have to remind herself of that constantly, despite the blasé face she put on for Oz's friends. Victoria rose to her feet, holding her sword at her side. "You can come out now."

The vampire stepped out from behind a tree, wearing his familiar human face. "Well, well, well. Victoria DiThon Kestral." He drew out her name in a way she disliked. She wasn't sure whether it was hearing him say it with an American accent or without the warmth she was accustomed to. "What brings you to the Hellmouth?"

"You," she said. "What the hell happened, Angel?" This really was going to be harder than she'd thought. Time to reevaluate the tentative plan she'd been forming and play it by ear. Her specialty.

"Its Angelus now," he said, a mocking tone in his voice. "It's so kind of you to show up on your own. Won't have to waste my time hunting you down."

"Why hunt me?" Victoria said. "I was never a threat to you."

"But you remind me of those years," Angelus said, "and that time needs to be erased. Even if it means destroying everything that reminds me of them. Including you."

He rushed at Victoria, but as a vampire, she was just as fast. She sidestepped and brought up her sword.

Oz and his friends chose that moment to stumble into the small clearing at the back of the cemetery, but Victoria could spare no time for them. Her reach was longer, but Angelus was brutal. Not at all like the gentleman she had once enjoyed sparring with a hundred years ago.

"No!"

Whirling limbs and skirts appeared between Victoria and Angelus, and she pulled a strike at the last moment. Drusilla stood between them, her vampiric face filled with horror.

"Dru!" Angelus said. "What are you doing?" He tried to dodge around her, but she stepped in front of him.

"I won't let you kill her! You can't kill my sister!" Drusilla said.

"What do you mean, 'sister'?" Angelus said. "I may be her sire, but you are in no way related."

Victoria didn't lower her sword, but she stayed on Drusilla's other side. This was a new development. She'd had no idea that Dru was part of the picture. "Not true, Angelus," she said. "I met Drusilla years ago. We discovered that we had exactly one thing in common: you." And a love of Depression-era music, but that had been a long time ago. "Dru, honey, I don't want to kill him unless he forces me to. And he's doing a damn good job of it."

"You couldn't kill me," Angelus said. There was that mocking tone again, the one Victoria would never get used to. "Even you couldn't kill your own sire, Victory."

And there was a name she hadn't heard in years. The vampire known as Victory had been a long time ago, too. She never even knew that Angel had heard of her. "That's where you're wrong, Angel," Victoria said, matching his tone. Two could play this game. "I've done much worse things in two hundred years."

At that, she dodged around Drusilla and lunged, blade flashing. Drusilla yelped in surprise and Angelus stared down in horror at the sword impaling his chest, before he toppled to the ground.

Xander ran forward, ready to stake the fallen vampire, but Victoria blocked his path. She grabbed his shoulders against his struggles, and let her face revert back to human. "He forgot two things," Victoria said, pitching her voice so that all could hear. "That my sword is a silver and steel alloy, and that I really can't kill him."

She released Xander and met Buffy's eyes. "Go home. I'll to make him leave Sunnydale. Oz?"

"Yes?" he said.

"Don't get killed on this damn Hellmouth. I would hate to have to explain that to our mutual friends. Jason would go insane." Oz nodded, and he stood with his new friends as Drusilla and Victoria gathered up Angelus and disappeared into the night.

Victoria heard them dimly as they left the clearing, praying they wouldn't come after her.

"I can't believe we let them go," Xander said. "If she can't kill him…"

Buffy's voice now, and Victoria's heart broke for the coldness in her voice. "That just means that I'll still have to."

* * * * *


	4. Part Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Part One for Disclaimers and Author Notes.

Part Four

Victoria and Drusilla entered the warehouse and placed Angelus' body on the long table. Some lackeys stared at them, but backed off when Victoria reverted to her vampiric face and growled at them. They were a complication she didn't need right now. Jerking her sword of out Angelus' chest, Victoria sat at the table and proceeded to clean the blade.

Drusilla stared at Angelus for a few moments. "Why did you come, sister?" Drusilla said. The insane vampire reached out a white hand and paused above Angelus' wound. It had already closed, and he gave a low moan.

"I heard that Angelus was back. I had to come." Victoria inspected her sword one last time and sheathed it in her long coat. "I won't kill him, and he knows that. I just made it completely obvious."

"So just why did you come?" Spike said, rolling out of the shadows in his wheelchair. Victoria leapt up and whirled around, on the defensive. Drusilla went to her love and draped herself across him. "I've heard of you. Victory, right?"

"That's right," Victoria said. "And I know of you, William the Bloody."

"The name is Spike," he said. "So what the hell are you doing here, besides wrecking havoc?"

"Trying to save your asses," Victoria said, still on the defensive. "The Slayer is out to have all your heads, with or without the body attached. Preferably without. You can't win."

"And what makes you so sure, girl?" Spike said. "She hasn't managed to kill us before now, so what makes you think she suddenly could?"

"Because, dear boy," she said, matching his sarcastic tone. "She thinks I'm on her side." Victoria hoped with all her might that the vampire would not see through her guise. She was on no one's side but her own. Maybe Oz's. She'd be happy to see Angel live through this, but he wasn't Angel anymore. "I told the Slayer that I would make you leave town. I probably can't do that, but I can offer the suggestion. There are plenty other cities in the world. Hell, I live in one that doesn't even have vampires, because the few that were there when I moved in are scared shitless of me. You guys could move in, no problem."

Spike laughed. "Not a chance. I'm going to kill that Slayer if it's the last thing I do."

"Then it will be the last thing you do, because a new one would just come. You have virtually no power, Spike. You probably can't even take me down at the moment, and I haven't drunk any blood in over a year."

"Then it's about time you started," Spike said. "I won't trust you until you prove your worth. Drink the blood of one of the Slayer's friends, and I will take your suggestion into consideration. We'll see how good you really are."

Another unexpected development. "Deal." This she could handle. There was no choice. The only one who would survive was Oz, as an Immortal.

Drusilla and another lackey followed her out of the warehouse. The distance to the high school was not great, and the three arrived soon. This really was such a small town. Victoria gestured for them to stay at the entrance, and she walked into the school and headed for the library. So much had changed in so few hours.

Peeking through the library door windows, she saw Oz, Willow, and Cordelia, just as the presence of another Immortal tingled down her spine. Oz stared up at the door and met her eyes. No time to go in and explain. She just had to hope Willow would forgive her. She'd seen the way the redhead looked at her old friend. She motioned for Oz to follow her, and headed back down the hallway. He could make his own excuses.

Oz caught up to her near the doors, and she held up a finger for silence. She'd apologize later, but his reaction had to be real.

The moment they passed through the school doors, Victoria pulled on her vampiric face and turned on Oz. His hand moved towards the sword in his coat, but there was no time before Victoria had latched her teeth onto his neck. He stiffened in surprise and pain, but lost strength in moments.

The blood overwhelmed her. This wasn't a random human in a nightclub, or pitiful degenerate on the street. This was Oz. Theolus Ozcorun. Immortal and werewolf and ancient and powerful. Victoria drained as much blood as she could in a feeding madness before her mind came back to her. She dropped Oz to the ground, feeling his lifeblood and power roll under her skin. She turned towards the shadows. "Satisfied?"

Drusilla appeared and said, "I always knew you were worthy." She reached out a hand and dabbed away a bit of blood still on Victoria's lip. Licking it off her fingers, she grinned. "Welcome back, my sister."

Victoria tried to match Drusilla's grin, but know it didn't reach her eyes. "It's good to be back," she said, hoping that her luck would hold. "Victory is will rise again."

* * * * *

Oz surged back to life in front of the school building. "Damn you, Toria," he said. "You had better still be on our side."

* * * * *

About ten minutes after Oz had left, Willow knew something was wrong. He definitely should have been back with the sodas by now. She left the library and went to the soda machines, but saw nothing. She wandered down a hallway looking for him. Still no Oz. Time to head back to the library and sound the alert. As she jogged past the entrance to the school, the doors opened.

"Oz!" He staggered through the doorway, and Willow caught him in her arms. He held her for a moment, then pushed away.

"I'll kill her!" he said. "I'll take her damn head myself! I cannot believe she did that!"

"What?" Willow said, interrupting his out-of-character rant. "What happened?"

Oz took a deep breath and visibly calmed. "Victoria." He pulled down the collar of his bowling shirt and showed Willow the still livid, though closed, bite mark. She gasped as she saw it fading away before her eyes. "Told you I was Immortal. She drained me, but not all the way. I just need to rest and have something to drink. And figure out what's going on."

They headed back to the library, and Oz told them what had happened. Buffy and Xander had come in the back way while Willow was gone. Cordelia and Giles were shocked, and Buffy was unreadable. Xander, however, was pissed.

"It was all a setup! We could have taken out both Angel and Drusilla, but she stopped us!" He turned to Oz. "I thought you said we could trust her!"

"We can trust her," Oz said, opening his second bottle of energy drink. "I'm as angry as you, but think about it. She called me outside. I saw two more vampires lurking nearby. I have the feeling she had to prove herself to them. She chose me because she knew that I would survive." Xander started to retort, but Oz continued. "I've known Victoria for over fifty years. I have certain...connections with her. She'll come through for us."

Nothing more could be said. Giles suggested that everyone head home for some much needed sleep. Oz drove Willow home, and he invited her to his house the next day after school. "There's more I need to tell you."

* * * * *


	5. Part Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Part One for Disclaimers and Author Notes.

Part Five

After what seemed like one of the longest days of her life, Willow arrived at Oz's house after school. She hadn't had a chance to speak with Buffy and Xander all day, and so she hadn't had anyone to discuss her curiosity with.

They kissed in greeting, and made awkward small talk while Oz retrieved sodas and a bowl of chips. Then they settled in the living room, and Oz began his story.

"When I said that I had connections with Victoria, I meant it literally," he said. "But I should confess something to you first." He took a deep breath. "We used to live together, right after World War Two. We were even lovers for a time." Willow started to speak, but Oz placed a finger over her lips. "It's over. Long over. But we still have certain connections, and it's only fair that you know."

Willow couldn't hold it in anymore. "Just how old are you?"

Oz took a deep breath. "A little over sixteen hundred years old."

Willow gaped at him.

"My real name is Theolus Ozcorun, but my first teachers started calling me Oz, and the name kind of stuck. I'm originally from what is now Greece. I've been all over most of the world. I have this bad habit of being drafted by armies, for some reason, so I've seen my share of battles. I managed to miss Vietnam, but I was drafted into the Korean War by the U.S., and I did some…underground work for the Allies during World War Two. That's how I met Toria."

"Wow," Willow said. "And I thought Angel was old! How old is Victoria? And what do you mean by 'connections'?"

Oz laughed. "Toria's a baby compared to me. Barely over two-hundred. As I said before, I've been studying the Hellmouths for a long, long time. When I found heard about the one in Sunnydale, a kid named Jason was spending the summer with me. This was in 1993, and we met up with Victoria down here, too. We found the exact spot of the Hellmouth, right where the library is now, but the school was just beginning to be built at the time."

He paused for a sip of soda. "When the three of us entered the clearing, a figure appeared. It was a relatively minor demon called Triaumvervirate, who had taken a fancy to the number three." Willow was amazed by the way the name rolled easily off Oz's tongue. "He had decided to go to 'sleep' for a few decades and required some Guardians. Apparently Toria, Jason, and I fit the bill," he said. "Victoria is Tria, the Courage, as both Immortal and vampire. Jason is Umver, the Strength, because he one of the 'pet' werewolves of a vampire master in St. Louis, though he wasn't a werewolf yet. And I'm Virate, the Wisdom, as both a werewolf and an Immortal. There are other reasons why we supposedly make up the perfect triumvirate, but that's the main one."

"That makes sense," Willow said. Not all demons were evil and wanted to end the world. Just most of them. "So this demon can just call you whenever?"

Oz shook his head. "He's asleep. The three of us will be automatically summoned if something invades his lair, wherever that is. And whenever the three of us are within a certain distance of each other, our individual strengths increase, and we have the ability to call each other from anywhere in the world if we need help. Which has only happened once, when Jason got himself into trouble on a road trip about two years ago."

"That's how you know she's still on your side. You really are connected to her," Willow said. "So how do you contact her?"

Oz stood and gestured for Willow to follow. He led her down to the basement as he talked. "I have a good friend in LA who's a sorceress. She's actually the one who helped me finally locate this Hellmouth. Pallas bought this house, and she drives out here for all her big ritual magic. I 'protect' the house for her, and she lets me live here and occasionally borrow some of her supplies."

"So that's where you got those herbs when the nearest supplier Giles could find was LA!" Willow said.

The basement was unlike anything Willow had ever seen before. The floor was tiled in white, but a large circle in the center of the room had been inlaid with various colors and patterns that she didn't recognize. The shelves that lined two walls distracted her, and she itched to get her hands on the books.

"This is a summoning circle," Oz said. "But a very benign one. Pallas gets a lot of her intel from the spirit world, so she set this up permanently. It has a truth spell layered in that we can also activate." He gave her a devious smile. "So we are going to summon what is essentially an incredibly minor little demon by the name of Tria. My revenge on her for draining me."

Willow laughed, and gleefully grabbed the book at Oz pointed out to her. She would definitely have to meet this Pallas and pick her brain.

Half an hour later, everything was ready. Willow sat on a pillow to protect from the chill tile, resting the large book on her knees. She nodded at Oz, who stood on the other side of the circle. He extended both arms over the rim, palms facing up. A small orb of green light appeared between his hands. After his nod, Willow began reading the summoning spell. A brilliant flash of red light came from the center of the circle. When Willow's eyes cleared, she saw a short young man with shoulder length blond hair. He eyed Willow with curiosity, then whirled around to face Oz.

"What just happened?" the stranger said. "Oz? Are you okay?"

"I'm really sorry, Jason," Oz said. "We meant to summon Victoria. Guess her shields are a lot better than yours." He filled Jason in on the gist of the situation.

Jason laughed, not the reaction Willow had been expecting. "Silly lady." He glanced at his watch. "Time is still moving, Oz-man. I have to get to work. Good thing this happened now, instead of the middle of a set." Giving Willow a wink, he raised his own hands and disappeared in another blazing flash of red light.

"Show-off," Oz said.

"What did he mean, 'in the middle of a set,'" Willow said. "Is he a musician like you?"

Oz did something that happened very rarely. He blushed. "Um, no, Wil. He's a stripper."

It was Willow's turn to blush, and they repeated the summoning. This time, however, the blinding light was blue.

* * * * *

Across town in the vampires' warehouse, Victoria was the only one awake this close to sunset. She sat at the large table with her feet propped up, jamming to the music from her portable CD player. She'd snuck out early that morning to retrieve her bag from the school's library and grab a bite of the normal food she still needed for sustenance.

In one lithe movement, she rose to her feet and ripped off the headphones. "Oh, shit." Then she disappeared in a blue flash of light.

* * * * *

She reappeared in what could only be a basement and felt Oz's Immortal presence wash over her. Willow rose to her feet in front of Victoria, but before she could comment, a blade caressed the side of her neck. "You know, Theolus," Victoria said. "Triaumvervirate wouldn't be too happy if one of his Guardians killed another one off."

"Then what do you call what you did?" The coldness in Oz's voice shocked her.

"What, you think I really have turned?" Victoria laughed at that thought. "Oz, you are out of practice. You call this an interrogation?" She stiffened when the sword at her neck began to move. Oz walked around the rim of the circle and stood next to Willow.

"Toria, you're the one who's out of practice," Oz said. "Look closer."

Victoria narrowed her eyes at him. There had to be a reason she was standing in the middle of a tiled circle, and she knew she wasn't going to like it. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the world was awash in color.

Oz's brilliant emerald aura and Willow's softer yellow one sprang into focus, along with the curtain of colors that signified the summoning circle that had brought her here. She saw the familiar gray and scarlet tones that she associated with a circle, but what about the subtle pastel green? Then she remembered. Cursing under her breath, she blinked and again looked at the world through normal sight. "I have to say, you've gotten smarter in your old age, Oz. But really, a truth spell? A bit overkill, don't you think?"

Oz almost laughed, but at least removed his sword. "With you, never. Victoria, have you turned back to the vampires?"

She stared at him for a moment. "I will always be vampire; it's in my nature, as is the wolf in yours. You should know that." She raised her hand when he tried to interrupt. "But if you are asking about my actions in the recent past, I am fully on your side. My main goal is to keep you, your friends, and Angel alive. Drusilla, too--if I can. I could care less about any other vampires."

"Why did you drain me last night?" Oz said.

"Drusilla needed me to prove myself. It had to be one of you, Oz. Who do you think would be my first choice?" He had no response to that. "Okay, so send me back, before someone wakes up and notices I'm gone."

Oz nodded. "Fair enough. Thank you." He nodded to Willow, who began to recitation to send Victoria back. "Call me if you need anything."

Victoria noted the double meaning in Oz's voice with a surge of relief. He trusted her to play out this crazy scheme. Then she disappeared in yet another flash of blue light.

* * * * *


	6. Part Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See Part One for Disclaimers and Authors Notes.

Part 6

Upon arriving back at the warehouse the vampires were using as their hideout, Victoria opened her eyes to find Spike standing in front of her. Without the aid of his wheelchair. "But I thought--" He clapped his hand over her mouth, then pulled it away just as fast.

"Bloody hell! You bit me!"

Victoria gave him a quirky half grin. "Then don't do that," she said. "Now how the hell are you walking around?"

Spike ran a hand through his hair. "Angel thinks he's in charge and that I can't challenge him. What was all the flashing lights about? Where did you go?"

She shrugged. "I'm one of the Guardians for a demon. Another Guardian called on me for help. But now I'm back." The truth, technically. Those damn spells took a while to wear off. "So what's going on? Why are you showing me that you're okay, when everyone else obviously doesn't know?"

"I want to take you up on your offer, and move to your city. This damned Hellmouth is more trouble than it's worth. Much as I would like to kill that bratty Slayer, I also don't want Dru or I dead."

"Can't argue with that. I don't want Dru dead either, though I don't much care about you. So why are you telling me this? Why not just leave?"

"I need your help." Victoria raised an eyebrow. "You really think Angel will let us just waltz out of here?"

"Good point," she said. "What do you propose to do?"

A door in the back banged open. Spike threw himself back down in his wheelchair, and Victoria whirled around and drew her sword in a single fluid motion. Angelus attacked her with his own sword and knocked Victoria's out of her hand with brute strength. Before she could react, he slammed her against the wall, one hand clutching her throat and the other holding his blade right below her chin. Victoria clawed at his hand, but he didn't waver.

"You lied!" Angelus growled the words out. "Oz is alive!"

"Oz is an Immortal, you idiot!" Victoria said in between gasps for air. Screaming in her mind, she sent out a wordless call. "You think I would kill an innocent, much less take the head of a good friend?"

With that, Angelus threw her across the room. She hit the wall and slid down, stunned. He strode over and kicked her in the ribs, which cracked with an audible sound, and she curled into a ball of pain. Angelus was about to kick again when a flash of red light appeared right in front of him. Angelus had turned away to shield his eyes, and when he looked again, was confronted by a large, growling wolf standing over Victoria.

"What the hell is going on?" Spike said in a bored voice from his wheelchair.

Victoria pulled herself up to a sitting position using the mysterious wolf. Wrapping her arms around its neck for support, Spike and Angelus could see that the animal was much larger than a "normal" wolf should be. Victoria gave Angelus a mournful look, then the two disappeared in more glaring flashes of light, this time of both red and blue.

* * * * *

Willow and Oz were snuggling on his couch, speaking softly of anything not related to vampires or the Hellmouth. She had gotten him to admit a bit more about himself, but she could tell this was unfamiliar ground for both of them. She loved him all the more for his choice to reveal this secret to her.

Oz's arms tense around her, and then he leapt to his feet. "Incoming."

Before she could ask, flashes of blue and red light erupted in the middle of the living room.

When it cleared, Victoria collapsed unconscious into Oz's arms. "Shit, I think her back's broken," Oz said. He gathered her up and carried her to the couch. "Thank god you reached her in time, Jason."

Willow looked up from where she'd been covering Victoria with a blanket. "Jason?"

The wolf had somehow made himself inconspicuous, not an easy task when he was the size of a small pony. He crept out of the corner to nuzzle Victoria's cheek. Oz reached over and scratched his head. "He's a werewolf. A different breed than me, though. He'll have to stay in this form for awhile; he can't change back immediately." Oz went back to checking Victoria for injuries. She looked dead to the world, but he could feel the pulse in her neck fluttering under his fingers. "Besides the fractured spine, she probably has a concussion and internal bleeding. The bruises on her neck are healing, though, and so are her ribs." Willow winced as one of them slid back into place with an audible crack. Oz looked at Jason. "What did she do? Get thrown into a wall?" He sighed when Jason nodded his head. "I'll be right back, Wil." He headed out of the living room.

Victoria groaned, and Jason placed his head next to her cheek in comfort. Oz appeared again, and Willow's eyes widened as she saw the wicked looking knife held casually in his hand.

"Whoa," she said, jumping back from the couch. "What are you going to do with that?"

Oz held up his hand, the one not holding the dagger. "Don't worry!" He studied Victoria's prone body again. "It's like this: Victoria became Immortal when she was very young, like me. For some reason we've never been able to figure out, we don't have the same healing factor that most Immortals do. She makes up for it in other ways, but right now, I don't think Victoria's going to heal quickly unless I kill her. She must know she's safe, and isn't healing as fast as she normally would."

Willow gaped at him for a few moments, then hastily recovered. "What do you mean, like you?" she said, the first thought that came to her rather numb mind.

"Oh, I was eighteen when I became Immortal, I think," he said. "Could've been anywhere from sixteen to my early twenties. Hard to keep track of birthdays when they keep changing the calendar on you." He glanced at Jason. "Any arguments on killing her, wolf-boy?" A quick shake of the wolf's head said no, followed by a slight growl at the nickname. "Okay," Oz said. "Much as I hate to, let's do this. I'm going to get a trash bag so blood doesn't get all over Pallas' carpet."

After spreading the trash bag like a tarp, Oz lifted Victoria off the couch and placed her on the floor. He eased off her long coat, wincing as she groaned in pain. "Jason, go outside. I'm not going to take a chance with you around fresh blood. Willow, can you show him the way?" She nodded, and led Jason towards the kitchen.

* * * * *

Willow didn't need to see this. Oz knew his young girlfriend was all too familiar with death, but he would spare her what he could. Before she could come back, Oz plunged the dagger into Victoria's heart. Pulling it out again, he felt the familiar gripping of his heart through their bond that meant she had died. Outside, Jason howled. He wondered what the neighbors would think.

Willow ran back into the living room, but Jason wisely stayed out. She gasped at the blue lightning flickering over the closing wound. A loud cracked came from Victoria's body, and her back straitened slightly.

Good, just as he'd suspected. Oz continued to kneel by Victoria's side, and Willow reclaimed her seat on the couch, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. He didn't blame her distance.

"What would have happened if you hadn't killed her?" Willow broke the silence of the living room, her voice tentative.

"I don't know," Oz said. "But I know her. She doesn't fear death."

A few minutes later, everything looked healed. Her body jerked, and Victoria reached up a hand to grab Oz's throat. She stared at him, fury in her eyes, before letting go and slumping back down to the floor, closing her eyes in relief. "Gods, I'm sorry, Oz. I thought you were Angel."

"Angel did this to you?" Willow said.

Victoria pushed herself up on her elbows and studied her ruined clothing. "Except for the stab wound, yeah," she said in a hoarse voice, glancing at the bloody dagger next to Oz. "He didn't know you were like me, Oz, and was pissed that I hadn't killed you. So he threw me against a wall. Among other things."

Oz took Victoria's hand and helped her up. "Go clean yourself up, Toria, and grab one of my shirts. You're safe now." She shot him a grateful smiled and headed towards the stairs.

He gathered Willow in his arms and held her. They waited as Jason padded back into the living room and Victoria made her way back downstairs, a blue bowling shirt hanging loosely on her thin frame.

The wolf went to Victoria, and she dropped to her knees and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Jason," she said. She buried her face in his fur.

Oz released Willow and placed his hands on Victoria's shoulder and the wolf's head. He met Willow's eyes, steeling himself for jealousy, but instead, he saw her bright smile. She recognized that the bond they had was not one that needed to worry her, further proof of his redhead's wisdom and intelligence.

* * * **

Victoria raised her face from the shelter of Jason's shoulder. "If I go back, Angel will kill me."

She rose from her knees and collapsed into an armchair. Jason settled himself at her feet as Oz and Willow reclaimed their couch. She brooded in silence for a moment. "I had no idea he'd be so different."

"It shocked all of us," Willow said.

"Souls are important things, apparently," Oz said, dry humor in his voice. Then his tone turned serious. "We can't risk you, Toria. I can't risk you."

"But he's my sire."

"And all you would be was a distraction," Oz said, "until he killed you, and turned back to Buffy. She's the Slayer. She's the only one who can deal with this."

Victoria wanted to argue. Wanted to fight, because Angel was her sire, and Dru was her sister, and she could keep them safe. But that had been a long time ago, and this wasn't her world anymore. At one time, she had embraced the vampire in her, but now it was just a barely tolerated tenant in the back of her mind, an itch that she tried not to scratch. "I shouldn't have come here. I'll just make things worse."

"You're powerful, but you're a loose cannon," Oz said. "Buffy won't trust you, even if I do." She looked to Willow for confirmation, but the young woman nodded her agreement.

"I'm a complication you don't need right now." Victoria sighed. This had not been her intention.

"You and Jason stay here tonight," Oz said. "We'll figure out how to send you home in the morning. I'll order a few pizzas now. You going to change back soon?" The wolf at Victoria's feet rose and shook himself. "Come on, I'll get you some clothes." He led Jason upstairs, leaving Victoria and Willow alone."

"I'm sorry for fucking things up," Victoria said.

"You didn't," Willow said. "I know you were trying to help. And I think you've given us a better insight on Angel's past. We'll figure something out."

"You'll call me if there's anything I can do?" Victoria had no choice but to trust this small band of fighters who lived on the Hellmouth. Leaving a fight was not something she was used to.

"Of course we will. As long as you come back when all of this is over and let me pick your brain about Oz."

Victoria traded mischievous grins with Willow. "Oh, the stories I could tell you…"

* * * * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of my first short stories and I'm not completely happy with the way it turned out. But it gives good history for Victoria. Up next, I'll be working on how she meets up with the canon Highlander characters!


End file.
